Gillian Looks to Future of Wonderland Pier Site, Not the Past

Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian believes it is time to “say goodbye” to Wonderland Pier and instead begin to focus on the options for redeveloping the sprawling former amusement park property on the Boardwalk.

Speaking to an audience of more than 100 residents at a town hall meeting Saturday, Gillian touched on the challenges of operating an amusement park of the magnitude of Wonderland.

“It’s been a rough time – a rough few years,” he said of Wonderland’s financial troubles that led to the park’s closing on Oct. 13 after a nearly 60-year run under the ownership and operation of the Gillian family.

Now that Wonderland is closed for good, he emphasized that he simply wants to move on and devote more attention to the property’s future under the ownership of hotel developer Eustace Mita.

“For me, I need closure,” Gillian said.

He added, “It’s just time to say goodbye.”

Mita now owns the Wonderland amusement rides and property at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk. After Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage, Mita stepped in to save the amusement park from a sheriff’s auction in 2021.

Gillian said the money that Mita invested in Wonderland went toward paying off debts. He noted that Mita gave him three years in 2021 to try to turn Wonderland around. Ultimately, he couldn’t overcome Wonderland’s financial struggles.

“I don’t want any pity. I’m the luckiest guy in Ocean City,” Gillian said of his family and his happiness in serving as mayor.

Mita has told city officials that he needs six months to study the property before coming up with a new plan. In 2023, Mita proposed building a $150 million luxury boutique hotel on the Wonderland site, but failed to win support for the project from Gillian and other elected officials.

    Crowds ride Wonderland Pier's landmark Ferris wheel one last time on Oct. 13 before the amusement park closes.
  

Mita is the owner of the Icona luxury resorts in the Cape May County beach communities of Avalon, Cape May and Diamond Beach. Although there is speculation that he may seek approval again for some type of resort at the Wonderland property, the city’s zoning laws currently do not allow hotels on that section of the Boardwalk.

Gillian expressed confidence in Mita’s ability to craft a redevelopment plan that will win the community’s support.

“When he’s ready, that’s when everybody can start talking,” Gillian said of Mita. “Whatever happens, it will be for the benefit of Ocean City.”

Gillian’s town hall meeting was a wide-ranging discussion that included an update on a series of construction projects either planned or already underway in Ocean City. State Assemblyman Antwan McClellan, who lives in Ocean City, gave an overview of Gov. Phil Murphy’s controversial proposed flood-control regulations that will have serious impacts on New Jersey’s coastal communities. (See related story N.J.'s Proposed Flood-Control Regulations Draw Fire - OCNJ Daily)

But much of the two-hour meeting at the Ocean City Tabernacle was about Wonderland and the future of the property, including Gillian’s opening remarks on the difficulties of operating the park. Underscoring the huge financial demands of the amusement park, he said needed to make $100,000 per day in order for Wonderland to be viable.

Gillian questioned whether the demographics of Ocean City’s tourism market have been undergoing a change and could no longer support two major amusement parks on the Boardwalk.

Playland’s Castaway Cove, at 10th Street and the Boardwalk, was Wonderland’s main competitor. Gillian emphasized Playland’s importance to the city’s tourism market now that it is the lone remaining major amusement park.

    The town hall audience listens during Mayor Jay Gillian's presentation.
  

Although Gillian wants to turn the page on Wonderland, there are efforts underway to revive the amusement park in some form.

Some of the residents at the town hall meeting wore “Save Wonderland” buttons. One of them, Marianne Brewer, questioned whether Mita would be able to satisfy the community by redeveloping Wonderland.

“I just hope that Mr. Mita is open to the public,” she said during the public comment portion of the meeting.

A local preservation group called Friends of OCNJ History & Culture has been raising money in the hope of buying the Wonderland property and resurrecting the amusement park.

“Our objective is pretty clear: that is to see if there’s a viable option to maintain an amusement park there,” said Bill Merritt, a member of Friends of OCNJ History & Culture.

Merritt said he hopes Gillian and City Council will at least consider the possibility of saving Wonderland Pier instead of outright opposing it.

Merritt told Gillian that Friends of OCNJ History & Culture has raised $1 million so far. In an interview afterward, Merritt said most of the $1 million comes from one donor, but he declined to identify the person.

According to Merritt, three possible scenarios may be worth pursuing to keep an amusement park at the Wonderland site. They include buying out Mita, having Mita donate the land to a nonprofit organization that would run an amusement park, or have the city acquire the property by using its power of eminent domain, he said in the interview.

Friends of OC History & Culture plans to rally public support and focus more attention on its fundraising efforts by organizing what it calls “a giant community photo” in front of Wonderland Pier at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24.

“Strike a pose for Wonderland. Help us preserve history,” says a flyer that Merritt handed out at the town hall meeting to promote the photo-op.

    Bill Merritt, a member of the preservation group Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, wants Wonderland Pier saved in some form.